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A 155-mm M109 self-propelled howitzer fires onto Russian positions near the occupied Ukrainian city of Bakhmut on August 17, 2023 in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine
An ex-Russian general said "lies" are obscuring the reality that Ukraine's troops are gaining ground.
Gurulyov confirmed that Ukraine has adapted to clear minefields and employ counter-drone attacks.
His Telegram message also said Russian victory is being prevented by "lies" and "false reporting."
An ex-Russian general acknowledged that Ukraine's troops are gaining ground on the battlefield, warning that lying and false reports in the military's highest echelons are keeping Moscow from achieving victory.
On Friday morning, Russian Parliament member and former deputy commander of the Southern Military District Andrey Gurulyov posted a message on Telegram assessing the state of Ukraine's counteroffensive more than three months after Kyiv officially launched its push against extensive eastern and southern Russian defenses. His points were sharply at odds with the victoriousness and censorship that often characterize Russian war commentary.
Gurulyov wrote that Ukraine's troops have changed their combat tactics, "have a lot of ammunition," and "are trying to burn out absolutely everything," according to a translation.
"They are no longer moving forward in large forces; they were obviously forbidden to lose heavy equipment en masse," he said, noting that the Ukrainians "have switched to squeeze-out tactics" and "are massively using cluster shells, inflicting damage on the stronger points of our units."
The "situation forces our troops to retreat deeper," Gurulyov added.
The ex-general's comments offer a blunt Russian view of the mounting counter-offensive fighting to get past Russia's tough defenses, particularly the complex defensive Surovikin Line just south of Orikhiv, a city in the southern Zaporizhzhia region. In late August and earlier this month, Kyiv's forces managed to make major breakthroughs in the area with the goal of striking a line all the way down to the Sea of Azov, splitting Russian occupied land in half.
It also adds weight to reports that Ukraine has learned to clear Russia's dense minefields, which posed a major roadblock earlier in the counteroffensive, and "have a lot of drones" that they use effectively both in counter-drone combat at the front line and deeper in Russian territory.
A Ukrainian soldier of 42nd Separate Mechanized Brigade puts camouflage on a tank's muzzle on September 11, 2023 in Eastern Ukraine, Ukraine.
Gurulyov also suggests that Ukraine is having success deterring the attack helicopters that had stymied its early advance. They've "created conditions making it impossible to use anti-tank missiles by our helicopters," Gurulyov wrote, and used shoulder-fired surface-to-air missiles like the US-made Stingers to strike Russian attack helicopters.
Gurulyov, a member of Russian President Vladimir Putin's United Russia party, has previously shared a Russian general's account that his troops were losing ground in artillery battles, a warning that would prove prescient.
In his Telegram message, Gurulyov warned about the state of war. While assuring Russian troops are stronger and will endure, adapt, and win, he added: "Victory is separated from us only by one serious problem of ours - lies. Yes, there is less of it than there was at the beginning of the SMO, but it is there."
SMO refers to "special military operation," the euphemism Russia has applied to its full-scale, devastating invasion of Ukraine now in its 19th month.
"False reports, unfortunately, lead to poor decisions at many levels," Gurulyov added, suggesting that Ukraine's advances and the reasons for them may not be getting reported up the chain of command, preventing a proper response. That's a problem that has plagued Russia's command since the beginning of their war in Ukraine.
Gurulyov previously made headlines for sharing an audio message from a senior Russian general saying he'd been dismissed from his post after questioning Defense Ministry decisions and raising concerns about the lack of counter-battery combat and mass casualties on the Russian side.
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Originally posted by Officer of EngineersView Post
I'm reading the link. No HHC were hit, just dead Cols. But even if one HHC was hit or two or even all 3 do not translate to a dead BDE. There's still 6 combat effective COYs commanded by a Bde HQ. Regardless, none of this translate to a dead 72 MRB ... and Eric is old enough and senior enough to read this.
note I used TWO qualifiers….:)
Ukrainians claim encirclement and destruction. Even with the fog of war and taking the Ukrainian claims at face value, I agree it’s unlikely that this means the BDE was wiped. However, it would mean that the brigade is combat ineffective for the time being.
of course the Ukrainians aren’t reporting on the status of their own Third Separate Assault Brigade, so we don’t know how operationally significant this is (or not).
I am not aware of any nation whose anchorages were subject to attack at willing managing to win in the long term. Even the US only managed a stalemate in 1812-14 and that vs a distracted GB.
I can think of several now that I put my mind to it. Japanese Invasions of Korea (1592-1598), Ming Invasion of Taiwan, PRC's hits on Quemoy and Matsu, War of 1812 (British burned the White House), Mongol Invasions of Japan, Salamis (Athens was burned before), Rome's Wars against the Pirates, and of course WWII Japan who hit British Asia, Dutch Indies, as well as American Pacific Holdings.
Well hopefully it there were more casualties than that. It sounds like the Uki's clobbered another command post. Either that or three random Colonels chose a very unfortunate place to just stop and have a quick chat and smoko.
I'm reading the link. No HHC were hit, just dead Cols. But even if one HHC was hit or two or even all 3 do not translate to a dead BDE. There's still 6 combat effective COYs commanded by a Bde HQ. Regardless, none of this translate to a dead 72 MRB ... and Eric is old enough and senior enough to read this.
Originally posted by Officer of EngineersView Post
Thank you, Monash, fir giving me the insight to see through the propaganda.
Allow me to translate, 72 MRB's frontage has not been collapsed even when 72 MRB has been claimed to be destroyed.
The Ukrainians killed 3 Colonels. That's all.
Well hopefully there were more casualties than that. It sounds like the Uki's clobbered another command post. Either that or three random Colonels chose a very unfortunate place to just stop and have a quick chat and smoko.
I am not aware of any nation whose anchorages were subject to attack at willing managing to win in the long term. Even the US only managed a stalemate in 1812-14 and that vs a distracted GB.
Out of curiosity exactly how many men does the average (rebuilt) Russian infantry brigade have at this stage of the war? Some sites state upwards of about 3000 or so officers and troops. But that was pre-war and many units were far below authorized strength before the war even began. Courtesy of Major General Ima Bribesvinski. So while not meaning to downplay the importance of this achievement at all how likely is it really that we're talking about a 'Brigade' containing only few hundred men, not a few thousand?
Its just at that at this stage of the war I'm starting to get the distinct impression that many of the Russian formations currently engaged in fighting are only 'companies', 'regiments' and 'brigades' etc on paper.
Thank you, Monash, fir giving me the insight to see through the propaganda.
Allow me to translate, 72 MRB's frontage has not been collapsed even when 72 MRB has been claimed to be destroyed.
first time they were badly damaged in May, so this looks like a reconstituted brigade wrecked.
Out of curiosity exactly how many men does the average (rebuilt) Russian infantry brigade have at this stage of the war? Some sites state upwards of about 3000 or so officers and troops. But that was pre-war and many units were far below authorized strength even before the war even began. (Courtesy of Major General Bribesvinski. So while not meaning to downplay the importance of this achievement at all how likely is it really that we're talking about a 'Brigade' containing only few hundred men, not a few thousand?
Its just that at this stage of the war I'm starting to get the distinct impression that many of the Russian formations currently engaged in fighting are only 'companies', 'regiments' and 'brigades' etc on paper.
first time they were badly damaged in May, so this looks like a reconstituted brigade wrecked.
Oh come on, Eric. This is Ukrainian propaganda. 3 BN COs/Cols killed do not translate to a dead Bde. The Ukrainians ain't even claiming to kill 3 HHCs, just 3 dead BN COs, not even a BDE CO. BN 2ICs would automatically assumed Command and carried on. 72 MRB isn't dead by any stretch of the imagination by Ukrainian claims.
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